The Lumax Heavy Duty Quick-Release Grease Coupler, No. LX-1403, has a compact, innovative design that enables it to firmly latch onto the grease fitting, enabling hands-free greasing in tight spaces, according to the company. The Heavy Duty Quick-Release Grease Coupler locks on and creates a leak-proof seal. Pressurized fittings can be depressed by way of thumb lever and released from the coupler. The LX-1403 has a working pressure of 15,000 psi and burst pressure of 22,000 psi. It has four hardened jaws to withstand high pressures without deformation. The company says there are no spurts or splashes when disconnecting.
The review
Many grease connectors can be difficult to disconnect when new. As they wear, they become easier to disconnect, but they also start to become loose to the point where they fall off during use.
Phil Fournier, owner and technician at Phil’s Auto Clinic in Hemet, California, says he was pleasantly surprised when he used the Heavy Duty Quick-Release Grease Coupler from Lumax. He found that the coupler stayed connected during use and was easy to disconnect when he was done.
"The tool attaches to the grease fittings quickly and easily and, more importantly, is easy to disconnect," Fournier says. "The quick disconnect with the lever is the best feature. [It] works very well to remove the fitting from the Zerk connector."
While the grease connector came packaged in a simple plastic pack on cardboard with no user manual, Fournier says that its use is straightforward and self-explanatory.
"Anyone who has ever pumped grease into a zerk fitting can figure out the use of the tool," he says.
Fournier also appreciated the apparent quality of the product, noting that it should hold up well over time.
"This unit is very well built," he says. "It looks like it will last longer than most fittings, which wear out quickly."
While the grease connector is intended for multiple applications, Fournier used it a fair amount in an agricultural setting, greasing a beet harvester.
"A typical beet [harvester] has literally tens of bearings, all of them with grease fittings and all of them subject to the worst type of wear: gritty dirt is always present," he says. "This tool worked extremely well and really saved time and frustration for the daily job of greasing all the bearings during harvest."
The only area in which Fournier saw room for improvement was the product's size.
"It is a little bit bulky and will not fit in the area available in many automotive applications," he says. "But for farm equipment, it is ideal. Space availability is much more liberal on farm equipment and this thing is made to order for farmers with hundreds of grease fittings to deal with."
Fournier says that if the product could be made somewhat smaller, it would be more useful as an automotive/light truck tool. However, he also notes that grease Zerks are less common on newer vehicles, many of which use sealed bearings.
All in all, Fournier found the grease connector to be a useful tool, and one of the best of its type.
"It couldn’t be better are far as sealing, connection and disconnect is concerned," he says.
